Tag Archives: flash effect

A beautiful, sparkling, glorious diamond. It can twinkle in the dimmest of light. It can turn heads from across the room. It is absolutely perfect.

Except for one little thing. It has __________.

“Well, what’s the ‘blank’?” you indignantly wonder. “My diamond has great specs!” That may be, but there are factors that go beyond just the basic 4C’s that can have a surprisingly drastic affect on a diamond’s value.

Let’s now take a look at some of the most prevalent and also some of the more obscure things that can negatively impact your diamond and its overall resale value.

Fracture Filling

If your diamond has undergone fracture filling, you yourself may end up filled with despair. This is a process that is applied to natural diamonds to essentially ‘fill up’ internal cracks within the stone (to improve their clarity – ergo, this is a brand of “clarity enhancement”). The fractures are filled with a substance (a lead oxychloride glass epoxy) that has a similar refractive index to diamond (thereby maintaining its normal sparkle), in order to best mask the flaws to the naked eye. If these cracks run all the way up to the surface, the glass-based glop can just be injected right in; if not, then the stone must be “laser drilled” to get in there (we’ll get to that whole practice in just a minute). “So, what’s so bad about that?” you justifiably may be thinking. The problem is this; the solutions used to fill in those fractures do not have the same remarkably high heat index that diamonds have. So, when a jeweler is positioning a diamond into a new piece of jewelry, or even just fixing a banged up old band or what have you, they use a torch. This torch doesn’t damage diamond at all, but the heat can cause the diamond to ‘sweat out’ the filling material, like a fat man on a treadmill after a night of drinking spiked egg nog. Hence, the fractures are now visible again and the stone’s clarity grade takes a nosedive. Just how bad is this? It’s so bloody awful that the GIA won’t even issue certificates for stones that have undergone fracture filling. The most aggravating part of this whole mess is that some companies do not inform their customers that the stones they are purchasing are fracture filled. So there you are, ignorantly walking around with a diamond that’s filled with other stuff. Please at least attempt to refrain from murdering anyone who sold you one of these fracture filled farces.

Laser Drilling

While this process sounds quite high tech (and a little James Bond-ish), it’s nothing to be that excited about. It’s another method employed to remove ugly, nasty or just mean spirited inclusions in diamonds. By drilling to the root of the undesired blotch in the stone (which is just a piece of black carbon that came together as the diamond formed), you expose the inclusion. The you can pour a little, good ole fashioned sulfuric acid down the hole and burn that droll smudge out of there. The drill that’s used is, of course, an infrared laser, and the hole that it bores into the stone is microscopic. Meaning, you can’t see these channels without the aide of a loupe, microscope or psychically charged ‘third eye.’ The dilemma inherent in laser drilled diamonds is that their internal structure has now been messed with. Who’s to say that the drilling process didn’t corrupt the integrity of the diamond; incipient cracks could be on the cusp of erupting at any time. The stone may be fine, but there’s just no way to tell. So as a result, professional diamond buyers are reluctant to acquire such stones – which may vengefully come back to bite them in the tuckus later.

Irradiation

Take a long hard look at your diamond…do you suspect that it’s been violently blasted with neutrons and electrons? Irradiation is a type of “color enhancement,” and if you have a white diamond, logic would dictate that you probably don’t have to worry too much about this (meaning that the process improves colored diamonds, not that it ameliorates a not so great white diamond’s color grade). It’s a procedure that utilizes radiation in order to alter colored diamonds at the atomic level, amping their color up from a dull and listless hue to a bright and boisterous shade. Aside from very rare cases where diamonds can actually undergo irradiation naturally, while still in the ground, stones that have been through this intense tanning bed experience are considered ‘altered,’ ‘treated’ and ‘fake-baked’ to diamond purists. Translation: valued less.

HPHT

This abbreviation stands for “High Pressure High Temperature,” and is a procedure that has been riddled with controversy since its inception. Scientists working at General Electric at the end of the 20th century discovered that they could, more or less, heat and squeeze all the hideous tints out of diamonds, thus making them clear as day. A bit of an oversimplification, but the overall HTHP operation, which somehow zaps poor color out of white diamonds and also intensifies shades in colored stones, became embroiled in scandal when many of the diamonds that went through this molecular rigamarole were passed off as naturally occurring. Again, within the milieu of diamond connoisseurs, these rocks just don’t fly as the real deal, and are intrinsically worth significantly less than their organic counterparts. HPHT stones are given an intaglio on the girdle which demarcates their altered nature, but this can be easily removed, further fueling the ire directed at these augmented diamonds.

Fluorescence

In all honesty, this one is a little baffling. Here is an extensive run down on what fluorescence is and how it can affect your diamond – but the bottom line is that in today’s market, diamonds that exhibit strong fluorescence are unfortunately less desirable. In the most basic, rudimentary terms, fluorescence is what turns a diamond blue when placed under a black light. That’s it. Once in an unfavorably blue moon, a diamond that has strong fluorescence may appear a bit milky when viewed in regular light, but this fickle property of fluorescence is usually just invisible altogether. The reason why this currently is viewed as a negative is rather up in the air, but if your diamond has fluorescence, you’re up a creek sans a rowing device.

Doublet

This is extremely rare in the diamond world, as it would seem that not even the most disreputable jeweler would try to dupe you with one of these, but stranger things have happened. This is where the top portion of a diamond (the table) is a real, authentic stone; the bottom (the pavilion) however, is a simulant. Either C.Z. or quartz or some other damnable fake. The two parts are glued together and violà; a gem that reads as real when viewed from above, but is a total sham when you look up its rear.

The only way to know for sure if your diamond has been cursed with any of these dastardly traits is to have it evaluated by a knowledgeable professional. Thankfully, the expert gemology staff at Diamond Lighthouse is at your disposal. If you possess a sizable diamond (1 carat and higher) that you’re looking to sell, we can perform a comprehensive test on in, making sure that it is not afflicted with any of the aforementioned natural or man-made maladies. This evaluation and shipping are both totally free as well. How’s that for service? We’ll also find you the absolute best price imaginable for your diamond. Find out more here.

Bravo. You guys did such a good job of learning all those diamond pro expressions and phraseologies that we’re going to give you another healthy dosage to consume. Learn these terms and continue to dazzle diamond dealers, jewelers, cutters, polishers, miners and even that small faction of highly skilled diamond thieves.